


Good Night

by Nope



Category: Heroes (TV)
Genre: Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-04-25
Updated: 2009-04-25
Packaged: 2018-10-25 02:18:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,028
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10754703
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nope/pseuds/Nope
Summary: D. L puts his son to bed.





	Good Night

It's evening enough to be dusky purple out. Niki's watching the muted news ("Civilian Deaths Reported in Angola Coup") and D.L.'s watching Micah nod forward and jerk back in surprise, dark eyes gone big and wide until they slowly close and he goes nodding again. D.L. chuckles. Niki throws him an annoyed look that becomes a smile when she realises who he's looking at.

"I'll put him to bed." 

D.L. shakes his head. "I'll do it." Niki shoots him a look D.L. ignores. He carefully scoops Micah up, clean diaper crinkling under the Spider-Man pyjamas. "Come on, little man. Say goodnight to your momma."

Micah blinks owlishly. He's a quiet baby. The doctors insist there's nothing wrong, but they still worry. Babies need a manual for all those things you never thought about before, like being quiet and potty training and why the hell is his poop green? Definitely need a chapter on that. He's thought about poop more often in the last twenty months than he has in the last twenty years. That's never mentioned in advance!

Niki kisses Micah's head. He smiles sleepily. She smiles back. They both do. "Goodnight, baby."

D.L. tucks Micah into the crook his arm, marvelling how small the kid is, how big he's getting. (When Micah was born, D.L. could hold him one hand, although he only did that once before Niki gave him a roof-raising lecture on how to properly support a baby). The gate lets him out into the hall; he crosses into their bedroom. The apartment is tiny, lounge and kitchen one room, bathroom barely bigger than a closet (they have a tub for Micah), but D.L. has picked up a few good construction jobs lately. They're putting a bit of money by when they can.

"Growing boys need their own room," he tells Micah. "What do you think, spaceships on the walls?"

Wide-eyed Micah appears to be actually considering this. D.L. grins.

"We'll get you a ceiling full of stars," he promises, tickling Micah's belly. Everything is smiles until he tries to put the happily squirming boy in his bed and then it's all frowns, clinging, and protest noises. "Bed-time, Micah. Night-night."

"No!" Micah shakes his head.

D.L. thinks of just leaving him -- he'd tire himself out in a few minutes -- but Micah's already worked out how to climb out. Smart little boy.

(Plus D.L. intends to prove that he can too put his son to bed, Ms. Sanders.)

"How about I read you a bed-time story? You want a story, Micah?" That gets a nod. There are books by the bed, stacked, thick cardboard things for Micah to look at and, somehow, cover in sticky hand prints. D.L. grabs a couple ("Whose Knees Are These?" and "Baby Dance") and settles down on the double bed, pushing the pillow up as a backrest and cuddling Micah close.

The books are basic kid things, all bright blocks of colour and simple, repetitive text, but Micah likes them. My son, the reader, D.L. thinks, and smiles. No high school daze and half-hearted community college for this one. He's gonna do right by his son, anyway, anyhow. Which should include reading stupid things in silly voices to get the boy to sleep, except Micah keeps putting his hands over the words so D.L. can't see them.

"Everything okay in there?" Niki calls.

"We're fine! Right, Micah?" Micah just slow blinks at him. "Micah says we're fine, too."

She laughs and Micah smiles. D.L. starts reading again, and Micah promptly crawls in front of the book.

"Okay, okay." D.L. chuckles. "I can take a hint." Micah looks at him expectantly. "More of a hint than that, kiddo." Micah frowns, puzzling this out. D.L. tries pointing at one of the other books. "Monsters?"

He pulls a face at Micah who smiles, but isn't distracted. His turn to point, he waves a chubby hand at the shelves, shaking his head with increasing strength until D.L. finally settles on the right target. Once they're back on the bed, he clambers up D.L. to rest against his shoulder, eyes big as D.L. shows him the cover.

"That's Batman," D.L. says. "He looks a bit scary, but he's the good guy. And that's his partner, Robin. See?" He touches a finger to the bright colours. "That's Robin. They're heroes."

"Bah-man," Micah says solemnly.

"That's right. But if your mom asks, I read you one about the knees, okay? Can you say knees, Micah?"

He taps Micah's knee to demonstrate. Micah just tugs at his arm, pulling at D.L.'s watch.

"Bah-man!" he insists.

"Okay, Batman it is." D.L. opens the comic, holding it up so Micah can see the pictures. "It's night in Gotham. That's when the bad guys come out. And the crooks are saying, 'We better rob this bank quick before the cops come!' But, look, Batman's watching them from the roof. Can you see him, Micah?" 

Micah beams, enthralled.

"He's saying," D.L. deepens his voice, "'Criminals are a cowardly lot.' And then Robin says," D.L. pitches his voice up. "Holy Bank Robbery, Batman!"

When he reaches to turn the page, he sees the screen on his watch is flashing 84:34. One year guarantee, right. Paulette always said, you get what you pay for, but D.L. got what he could afford, which was, it turned out, a "Cheap ass watch."

"Ass!" Micah giggles, claps.

"Oh, now you speak," D.L. says, turning the page. "Can you say knees?"

"Ass," Micah says. "Bah-man!"

D.L. sighs. "Your mother is going to kill me."

Micah blinks at him. "Bah-man?"

"Batman," D.L. agrees, cuddling him closer, and reads Micah four-colour "Biff! Pow! Smack!" adventures until he's baby-snoring and then gently transfers him to his bed. Pressing a kiss against Micah's hair, he whispers, "You're my hero," and just kneels there, watching his son sleep.

When Niki comes in to check on them a few minutes later, she pretends she can't see the comic sticking out from under the pillow.


End file.
